Efforts To Stop Oil May Cut Island In Half
By Associated Press, March 31, 2012
Scientists say measures taken to protect Dauphin Island from the BP oil spill two years ago have caused erosion that’s left the Alabama island vulnerable to breaking in half.
Experts say the beach is washing away along the Mississippi Sound in areas where vast quantities of sand were scooped out to build barrier walls in 2010 to prevent oil from washing ashore and fouling dunes and homes.
The Press-Register reports (http://bit.ly/H57w2H ) those actions left 22 large ponds on the island’s north side. Satellite images now show the island is noticeably thinner in places. Strong winter winds have accelerated erosion.
Coastal engineer Scott Douglass of the University of South Alabama says a powerful storm such as a major hurricane could sheer Dauphin Island into two pieces.